Los Angeles Lakers Logo

One of the most known basketball teams in the US, the Los Angeles Lakers boast 16 victories in NBA championships. It is a professional team participating in the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. Their home games are played at Staples Center. In 2015 Forbes named the LA Lakers the 2nd most valuable brand in the NBA.

Lakers Logo Meaning and history

The team was created in 1947 by Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen out of what remained from the Detroit Gems. The Los Angeles Lakers logo has undergone quite a few alterations throughout the brand’s history.

The first version of the emblem was created in 1948, when the team was based in Minneapolis and was called Minneapolis Lakers. The earliest Lakers emblem featured a white map of its home state, Minnesota, on a brown and black outline basketball. A yellow star was placed near the place on the map where Minneapolis is located. Also, there was a wordmark “MPLS.” with a star at the beginning and at the end.

Symbol Lakers: 1960-2001

In 1960, when the team moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles, the need for a new logo arose. By the next year an all-new emblem was created. It comprised the words “Lakers” and “Los Angeles” written in red purple over a gold basketball. This was the first time when the characteristic streaks appeared in the logo.

In 1976/77 the Lakers symbol was given a facelift. The ball acquired a black outline, which made the design clearer. Also, the hues were slightly modified. The gold of the basketball moved closer to yellow, while the red purple was replaced by a light purple lilac.

Lakers emblem: 2001 – present

The wordmark “Los Angeles Lakers” in dark purple is the visual center of the emblem. It is placed on top of a gold basketball. For the outline, designers chose the black color. In comparison with the previous version, colors are stronger, making the emblem stand out. However, the shape of the wordmark and the basketball is exactly the same.

Font of the Lakers Logo

The wordmark has peculiar stretched lines symbolizing the speed of the players. This visual element was first used in 1960, in the earliest version of the LA emblem.

Color of the Lakers Logo

The current logo comprises all the three team’s colors: purple, gold and white. There’s also a touch of black adding to the visual harmony. The Lakers opted for this color scheme, which is also used in their uniform, in the late 60’s. There were only minor alterations of the hues since then.